Glass valve for scientific purposes



Jan. 23, 1968 H. E. VAN BRAGT GLASS VALVE FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES Filed Oct. 21., 1965 flrmeusrs.

' IN VEN TOR. wsgwmv E. wuzmar United States Patent Office 3,354,947 Patented Jan. 23, 1968 3,364,947 GLASS VALVE FOR SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES Herman E. Van Bragt, 989 Commercial St., Palo Alto, Calif. 94303 Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,226 2 Claims. (Cl. 137625.47)

The present invention relates to scientific or laboratory glassware, and pertains more particularly to a glass valve and stopper structure for use in setting up and interconnecting various items of chemical and scientific laboratory equipment.

In chemical and other scientific laboratory experimental and manufacturing procedures, it is frequently necessary to employ numerous items of both standard and special laboratory glassware, such as, for example, flasks, coils, stills, burettes, retorts and others. Selected procedures call for setting up and interconnecting such items in innumerable different ways. At present it frequently is necessary to either manufacture or purchase an involved and expensive piece of laboratory glassware which can be created only by a highly skilled technical glass blower. Such artisans, or perhaps artists would be a better word, are few in number and highly paid.

An object of the present invention is to provide an item of laboratory glassware which will facilitate the interconnecting of several other items of standard laboratory glassware in such a manner as to provide selective intercommunication along various paths between the interconnected items, and also along a final path into a vessel in which the invention is mounted as a stopper.

Another object of the invention is to provide an item of laboratory glassware comprising a hollow, tapered glass valve body having an internal, ground valve seat therein, and having also an external ground face thereon for sealed, fitted insertion, stopper-like, into a correspondingly ground seat in the mouth of a container, the tapered body having a plurality of tubular outlets cornmunicating with the ground valve seat therein, a tapered, ground, glass core plug being fitted in sealing relation into the tapered seat in the body, the core plug having a plurality of valve passages formed therein for intercornmunicating selected ones of the tubular outlets on the body selectively with each other, and with an endwise opening in the inner end of the plug for communication with the interior of a vessel into the mouth of which the external ground face on the body is fitted.

Another object of the invention is to provide an item of laboratory glassware comprising a tapered, glass, valve body with an internal, tapered, ground valve seat and an external ground face on the smaller end thereof for fitted insertion, stopper-like into a correspondingly ground face provided on an opening into a container, a tapered valve plug being fitted into the body for rotative sealing engagement with the tapered, ground, internal seat in the valve body, the valve core plug having an endwise extending tube on the smaller end thereof, and having a plurality of passages formed therein for selectively communicating portions of the internal valve seat with each other and with the endwise extending tube.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved item of laboratory glassware.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein;

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal, section view through an item of laboratory glassware embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top end view of the item looking in the direction of the arrows 22 of FIG. 1, the valve core plug being shown in its position of FIG. 1 in solid lines, and in dash-one-dot and dash-twodot lines in other selected, rotatively adjusted positions.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a slightly modified form of the invention with the valve body in its position of FIG. 1, and the core plug turned to the position indicated by the dash-one-dot lines of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view generally similar to FIG. 3, but with the core plug turned another 90 to its position indicated by the dash-two-dot lines of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the core plug of FIG. I inserted in a valve body with a spherical external ground face thereon.

Briefly, the illustrative form of the invention shown in FIG. 1 comprises a laboratory glassware item A, comprising a tapered glass valve body 10 having an external tapered seat 11 on its smaller end for interfitted, sealing engagement with a correspondingly shaped seat provided in or around the mouth or neck portion 12 of a vessel or container B or other item of laboratory glassware. The valve body 10 also has a seat 13 formed interiorly thereof, and a tapered core plug 14 has its tapered outer face 15 shaped for fitted, sealed insertion into the tapered internal seat 13. It is common practice in recent years to substitute for a tapered glass plug in glass valves, a tapered plug of Teflon, a self-lubricating plastic material, fitted into a smoothly ground or polished seat, and, as used herein, such structure is intended to be included by the terms tapered ground structure, ground face, ground seat, etc.

A plurality of tubes, to be described in detail later herein, are fused to the body 10 with their inner ends opening into the ground seat 13 therein, while a plurality of selectively intercomrnunicating passages, also to be described later herein, are provided in the core plug 14, and include at least one endwise directed passage which communicates with an integral tubular axial extension 17 on the core plug 14.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the illustrative valve body 10 is generally similar to that of a conventional glass valve or cock, and the tapered, internal ground seat 13 therein is of truncated conic sectional shape.

The external ground seat 11 on the smaller end of the valve body 10 is shaped for fitted, sealing insertion into a correspondingly ground seat provided therefor in the neck or mouth portion 12 of a vessel, such as the vesselB.

A plurality of tubes 18, 19, 20 and 21 for connection to other items and apparatus as selected are fused to the valve body 10 to communicate with the interior through ports in the ground seat 13 thereof. Selected ones of the tubes, for example, the upper tubes 18 and 20, have their openings into the interior of the valve body 10 on a common transverse plane perpendicular to the axis of the tapered internal seat 13. The lower tubes 19 and 21 also preferably have their openings into the interior of the valve body 10 on a common transverse plane, which is separated axially from that mentioned for the tubes 18 and 20.

Selected ones of the tubes, for example, the tubes 18 and 19, also are displaced rotatively from other tubes 20 and 21, through a known or selected rotative angle, which, as illustrated, is so that by turning the core plug 14 to each of a plurality of rotatively adjusted positions, the core plug passages, to be described later herein, will provide selective intercommunication between selected ones of the body tubes 18, 19, 20 and 21, and also between selected ones of these tubes and an endwise directed core passage, also to be referred to later herein.

As illustrated, the core plug 14 is of hollow, glass construction, with an integral handle portion 22, thereon but obviously, if preferred, it can be of solid glass with the various core passages drilled or cored therein. The various passages in the illustrative core plug 14 are provided by glass tubes with their ends fused to the hollow core plug, and their open ends formed ports in the ground face of the core plug.

A first core plug passage 23 has one end opening thereof located to register selectively with one or the other of the ports in the internal valve seat 13 which opens into the upper body tubes 18 or 20 in selected, rotatively .adjusted positions of the core plug 14, while the other end opening of the first passage 23 is located, in such selected, adjusted positions of the core plug, to register with the port opening into the lower tube 21 or 19, as the case may be, on the opposite side of the valve body.

A second core plug passage 24 has one end opening thereof located to register selectively with one or the other of the ports in the valve seat 13 which opens into the upper body tubes 18 or 20 in selected, rotatively adjusted positions of the core plug 14, while the other end opening of the passage 24 is located, in such selected, adjusted position of the core plug, to register with the port opening into the lower tube 19 or 21, as the case may be, directly therebeneath.

A third core plug passage 25 has its open upper end located to register selectively with the ports opening into one or the other of the upper tubes 18 or 20. Its lower end opens through the small end of the core plug 14 and, in the form shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, into the axial tube 17 for communication with the interior of a vessel or container B into the mouth of which the external ground seat 11 on the valve body 10 is fitted in the manner of a stopper.

Additional passages (not shown) may be provided in the core plug 14, and additional, and differently located tubes (also not shown) may be provided on the body 10 for communication with selected passages in the core plug without departing from the invention. Features of the invention, are, however, a face, such as the face 11 on the body 10 for relatively interfitted, sealed relation with an opening into a vessel or other piece of apparatus having a correspondingly shaped face thereon, and the endwise directed core plug passage for communicating selected ones of the body tubes with the interior of a vessel or piece of apparatus with which the face 11 is in such relatively interfitted, sealed relation. 7

Since, except for the addition of the axial tube 17 on the core plug, both forms of the invention are the same, the same reference numerals are employed for the corresponding, other parts of both forms of the invention.

The invention provides a simple, inexpensive piece of laboratory glassware, by means of which various pieces of conventional laboratory or scientific glassware can be easily interconnected so as to permit selective and interchangeable interconnection among the various pieces, thereby providing a plurality of selectively available paths for intercornmunication between the various items of glassware which it interconnects and with a final path endwise through the valve core and into a container into which the valve housing is fitted as a stopper.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood, however, that various changes and modifications may be made in the details thereof without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. An item of laboratory glassware comprising;

a glass valve body,

an internal valve seat in the body,

a face on the smaller end of the body for interfitting,

sealing relation with the interior of an item of laboratory glassware having a corresponding face therea tapered valve core plug having a face thereon fitted in sealing relation into the internal valve seat,

a plurality of externally directed glass tubes, fused at one end of each thereof to the valve body and each thereof communicating with the interior of the body through a port in the internal valve seat,

plurality of passages within the core with opposite ends of each thereof located to register simultaneously with two selected ports in the internal valve seat which open into two selected body tubes in each of a plurality of rotatively adjusted positions of the valve core, and 7 an additional passage within the valve core, one end of which opens endwise through the smaller end of the core plug for communication with the interior of an item of laboratory glassware with which the face on the smaller end of the housing is in interfitted sealing relation, and the other end of which is located to register with a port in the internal valve seat which opens into a selected one of the externally directed body tubes in each of a plurality of rotatively adjusted positions of the body plug.

2. An item of laboratory glassware comprising;

a glass valve body,

a tapered internal valve seat in the body,

a tapered face on the smaller end of the body,

a tapered valve core plug having an external ground face thereon fitted in sealing relation into the internal valve seat in the body,

a plurality of externally directed glass tubes, fused at one end of each thereof to the valve body and each thereof communicating with the interior of the body through a port in the internal valve seat, first passagewithin the core plug with its opposite ends located to register simultaneously with two ports in the internal valve seat which open into two selected body tubes mounted in angularly remote relation to each other in each of a plurality of rotatively adjusted positions of the valve plug,

a second passage within the core plug with its opposite ends located to register simultaneously with'two ports in the internal valve seat which open into two selected body tubes on the same side of the body in each of a plurality of rotatively adjusted positions of the core plug, and

a third passage within the valve core, one end of which opens endwise through the smaller end of the core plug for communication with the interior of an item of laboratory glassware with which the tapered seat on the smaller end of the housing is in interfitted sealing relation and the other end of which is located to register with a port in the internal valve seat which opens into a selected one of the externally directed 'hody tubes in each of a plurality of rotatively adjusted positions of the body plug.

References Cited Zettl 137-625.43

HENRY T. KLINKSIEK, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ITEM OF LABORATORY GLASSWARE COMPRISING: A GLASS VALVE BODY, AN INTERVAL VALVE SEAT IN THE BODY, A FACE ON THE SMALLER END OF THE BODY FOR INTERFITTING SEALING RELATION WITH THE INTERIOR OF AN ITEM OF LABORATORY GLASSWARE HAVING A CORRESPONDING FACE THEREON, A TAPERED VALVE CORE PLUG HAVING A FACE THEREON FITTED IN SEALING RELATION INTO THE INTERNAL VALVE SEAT, A PLURALITY OF EACH THEREOF TO THE VALVE BODY AND EACH ONE OF EACH THEREOF TO THE VALVE BODY AND EACH THEREOF COMMUNICATING WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE BODY THROUGH A PORT IN THE INTERNAL VALVE SEAT, A PLURALITY OF PASSAGES WITHIN THE CORE WITH OPPOSITE ENDS OF EACH THEREOF LOCATED TO REGISTER SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH TWO SELECTED PORTS IN THE INTERNAL VALVE SEAT WHICH OPEN INTO TWO SELECTED BODY TUBES IN EACH OF A PLURALITY OF ROTATIVELY ADJUSTED POSITIONS OF THE VALVE CORE, AND 